English Test-5...

India ’s delicately balanced current account wouldn ’t be the only major casualty of costlier crude oil: Local travelers now have to pay more to fly within the country as expensive jet fuel propels airlines to raise domestic fares that had tracked global energy prices to plunge to record lows last year.
Higher consumer fares in January reflect the persistent rise in aviation-fuel prices, which increased 8% on-month in November at the New Delhi airport, the country ’s busiest. After a brief lull in December, prices firmed in January and February, breaching the levels of 2015 when the cycle of declines began.
The trend has led carriers to pass additional fuel costs on to consumers, many of whom switched to airlines after the gap between air and upper-class train fares narrowed in 2016. A senior executive at Jet Airways, India ’s second-biggest airline by market share, said that the airline has recently revived the practice of levying a fuel surcharge - a fare component linked to movements in jet fuel prices - on domestic flights.
“We used to charge between Rs 100 and Rs 300 depending on short- and long haul sectors. Now we charge as much as Rs 700,”he added. Jet-fuel is the biggest cost item for Indian carriers.
Prices of petroleum products began rising since the spring after the 2015-16 winter witnessed record lows for crude oil, with global prices breaching $30 a barrel on their way down to levels not seen since the 1980s. However, after a period of consolidation that analysts believed would have put many shale oil producers out of business, global crude oil prices began firming and have now stabilized around $55 a barrel, a level that some believe would be maintained over the medium term. Airlines had clubbed fuel surcharge with the base fare component in 2015 after an advisory from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the country ’s aviation regulator. No-frills carrier SpiceJet has separated the two components over the last six months, although the fuel surcharge hasn ’t been increased yet, said a spokesperson.
Travel company executives said overall fares have increased in January. According to data on Makemytrip, the country ’s biggest online travel portal, average fares dropped in November and December but rose in January. Ticket prices for the Delhi-Mumbai sector rose to Rs 4,266 in January, compared with Rs 3,908 the same month last year, Rs 4,914 on the Mumbai- Bangalore sector compared with Rs 4,573 a year earlier, and Rs 4,473 on the Mumbai-Chennai route, compared with Rs 3,784 last January. Rival Cleartrip noticed divergent trends that showed those booking early stood to benefit. Last year, spot-booking fares too had fallen drastically.
“An analysis of the last three months of airfare data for the top 20 air travel sectors reveals that the increased cost to airlines, contributed by the fuel prices surge and the rupee ’s depreciation, has resulted in a 15% increase in airfares for a booking window of 0-14 days,”said Samyukth Sridharan, president and chief operating officer of Cleartrip. “At the same time, we see that the airlines have been quite aggressive in offering deals to passengers who plan in advance, reflected in a 21% year on-year drop in fares on an average for travel bookings made over 14 days in advance.”
Last year, airlines had offered substantial discounts across sectors and made attractive offers for ticket-buyers who planned their travel in advance, resulting in lower yields. To be sure, the industry ’s ability to charge more will depend on the direction in aviation fuel prices and seasonal changes in air-travel demand.
“February and March are lean months, and the airlines may not have room to increase so much. But there will be increases subsequently if jet fuel prices continue their climb,”said a senior executive of a budget carrier.

According to the passage, why have many passengers switched to air travel post 2016?

India ’s delicately balanced current account wouldn ’t be the only major casualty of costlier crude oil: Local travelers now have to pay more to fly within the country as expensive jet fuel propels airlines to raise domestic fares that had tracked global energy prices to plunge to record lows last year.
Higher consumer fares in January reflect the persistent rise in aviation-fuel prices, which increased 8% on-month in November at the New Delhi airport, the country ’s busiest. After a brief lull in December, prices firmed in January and February, breaching the levels of 2015 when the cycle of declines began.
The trend has led carriers to pass additional fuel costs on to consumers, many of whom switched to airlines after the gap between air and upper-class train fares narrowed in 2016. A senior executive at Jet Airways, India ’s second-biggest airline by market share, said that the airline has recently revived the practice of levying a fuel surcharge - a fare component linked to movements in jet fuel prices - on domestic flights.
“We used to charge between Rs 100 and Rs 300 depending on short- and long haul sectors. Now we charge as much as Rs 700,”he added. Jet-fuel is the biggest cost item for Indian carriers.
Prices of petroleum products began rising since the spring after the 2015-16 winter witnessed record lows for crude oil, with global prices breaching $30 a barrel on their way down to levels not seen since the 1980s. However, after a period of consolidation that analysts believed would have put many shale oil producers out of business, global crude oil prices began firming and have now stabilized around $55 a barrel, a level that some believe would be maintained over the medium term. Airlines had clubbed fuel surcharge with the base fare component in 2015 after an advisory from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the country ’s aviation regulator. No-frills carrier SpiceJet has separated the two components over the last six months, although the fuel surcharge hasn ’t been increased yet, said a spokesperson.
Travel company executives said overall fares have increased in January. According to data on Makemytrip, the country ’s biggest online travel portal, average fares dropped in November and December but rose in January. Ticket prices for the Delhi-Mumbai sector rose to Rs 4,266 in January, compared with Rs 3,908 the same month last year, Rs 4,914 on the Mumbai- Bangalore sector compared with Rs 4,573 a year earlier, and Rs 4,473 on the Mumbai-Chennai route, compared with Rs 3,784 last January. Rival Cleartrip noticed divergent trends that showed those booking early stood to benefit. Last year, spot-booking fares too had fallen drastically.
“An analysis of the last three months of airfare data for the top 20 air travel sectors reveals that the increased cost to airlines, contributed by the fuel prices surge and the rupee ’s depreciation, has resulted in a 15% increase in airfares for a booking window of 0-14 days,”said Samyukth Sridharan, president and chief operating officer of Cleartrip. “At the same time, we see that the airlines have been quite aggressive in offering deals to passengers who plan in advance, reflected in a 21% year on-year drop in fares on an average for travel bookings made over 14 days in advance.”
Last year, airlines had offered substantial discounts across sectors and made attractive offers for ticket-buyers who planned their travel in advance, resulting in lower yields. To be sure, the industry ’s ability to charge more will depend on the direction in aviation fuel prices and seasonal changes in air-travel demand.
“February and March are lean months, and the airlines may not have room to increase so much. But there will be increases subsequently if jet fuel prices continue their climb,”said a senior executive of a budget carrier.

As per the passage, what is meant by fuel surcharge?

India ’s delicately balanced current account wouldn ’t be the only major casualty of costlier crude oil: Local travelers now have to pay more to fly within the country as expensive jet fuel propels airlines to raise domestic fares that had tracked global energy prices to plunge to record lows last year.
Higher consumer fares in January reflect the persistent rise in aviation-fuel prices, which increased 8% on-month in November at the New Delhi airport, the country ’s busiest. After a brief lull in December, prices firmed in January and February, breaching the levels of 2015 when the cycle of declines began.
The trend has led carriers to pass additional fuel costs on to consumers, many of whom switched to airlines after the gap between air and upper-class train fares narrowed in 2016. A senior executive at Jet Airways, India ’s second-biggest airline by market share, said that the airline has recently revived the practice of levying a fuel surcharge - a fare component linked to movements in jet fuel prices - on domestic flights.
“We used to charge between Rs 100 and Rs 300 depending on short- and long haul sectors. Now we charge as much as Rs 700,”he added. Jet-fuel is the biggest cost item for Indian carriers.
Prices of petroleum products began rising since the spring after the 2015-16 winter witnessed record lows for crude oil, with global prices breaching $30 a barrel on their way down to levels not seen since the 1980s. However, after a period of consolidation that analysts believed would have put many shale oil producers out of business, global crude oil prices began firming and have now stabilized around $55 a barrel, a level that some believe would be maintained over the medium term. Airlines had clubbed fuel surcharge with the base fare component in 2015 after an advisory from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the country ’s aviation regulator. No-frills carrier SpiceJet has separated the two components over the last six months, although the fuel surcharge hasn ’t been increased yet, said a spokesperson.
Travel company executives said overall fares have increased in January. According to data on Makemytrip, the country ’s biggest online travel portal, average fares dropped in November and December but rose in January. Ticket prices for the Delhi-Mumbai sector rose to Rs 4,266 in January, compared with Rs 3,908 the same month last year, Rs 4,914 on the Mumbai- Bangalore sector compared with Rs 4,573 a year earlier, and Rs 4,473 on the Mumbai-Chennai route, compared with Rs 3,784 last January. Rival Cleartrip noticed divergent trends that showed those booking early stood to benefit. Last year, spot-booking fares too had fallen drastically.
“An analysis of the last three months of airfare data for the top 20 air travel sectors reveals that the increased cost to airlines, contributed by the fuel prices surge and the rupee ’s depreciation, has resulted in a 15% increase in airfares for a booking window of 0-14 days,”said Samyukth Sridharan, president and chief operating officer of Cleartrip. “At the same time, we see that the airlines have been quite aggressive in offering deals to passengers who plan in advance, reflected in a 21% year on-year drop in fares on an average for travel bookings made over 14 days in advance.”
Last year, airlines had offered substantial discounts across sectors and made attractive offers for ticket-buyers who planned their travel in advance, resulting in lower yields. To be sure, the industry ’s ability to charge more will depend on the direction in aviation fuel prices and seasonal changes in air-travel demand.
“February and March are lean months, and the airlines may not have room to increase so much. But there will be increases subsequently if jet fuel prices continue their climb,”said a senior executive of a budget carrier.

Since when have airlines started clubbing the fuel surcharge with the base fare component?

India ’s delicately balanced current account wouldn ’t be the only major casualty of costlier crude oil: Local travelers now have to pay more to fly within the country as expensive jet fuel propels airlines to raise domestic fares that had tracked global energy prices to plunge to record lows last year.
Higher consumer fares in January reflect the persistent rise in aviation-fuel prices, which increased 8% on-month in November at the New Delhi airport, the country ’s busiest. After a brief lull in December, prices firmed in January and February, breaching the levels of 2015 when the cycle of declines began.
The trend has led carriers to pass additional fuel costs on to consumers, many of whom switched to airlines after the gap between air and upper-class train fares narrowed in 2016. A senior executive at Jet Airways, India ’s second-biggest airline by market share, said that the airline has recently revived the practice of levying a fuel surcharge - a fare component linked to movements in jet fuel prices - on domestic flights.
“We used to charge between Rs 100 and Rs 300 depending on short- and long haul sectors. Now we charge as much as Rs 700,”he added. Jet-fuel is the biggest cost item for Indian carriers.
Prices of petroleum products began rising since the spring after the 2015-16 winter witnessed record lows for crude oil, with global prices breaching $30 a barrel on their way down to levels not seen since the 1980s. However, after a period of consolidation that analysts believed would have put many shale oil producers out of business, global crude oil prices began firming and have now stabilized around $55 a barrel, a level that some believe would be maintained over the medium term. Airlines had clubbed fuel surcharge with the base fare component in 2015 after an advisory from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the country ’s aviation regulator. No-frills carrier SpiceJet has separated the two components over the last six months, although the fuel surcharge hasn ’t been increased yet, said a spokesperson.
Travel company executives said overall fares have increased in January. According to data on Makemytrip, the country ’s biggest online travel portal, average fares dropped in November and December but rose in January. Ticket prices for the Delhi-Mumbai sector rose to Rs 4,266 in January, compared with Rs 3,908 the same month last year, Rs 4,914 on the Mumbai- Bangalore sector compared with Rs 4,573 a year earlier, and Rs 4,473 on the Mumbai-Chennai route, compared with Rs 3,784 last January. Rival Cleartrip noticed divergent trends that showed those booking early stood to benefit. Last year, spot-booking fares too had fallen drastically.
“An analysis of the last three months of airfare data for the top 20 air travel sectors reveals that the increased cost to airlines, contributed by the fuel prices surge and the rupee ’s depreciation, has resulted in a 15% increase in airfares for a booking window of 0-14 days,”said Samyukth Sridharan, president and chief operating officer of Cleartrip. “At the same time, we see that the airlines have been quite aggressive in offering deals to passengers who plan in advance, reflected in a 21% year on-year drop in fares on an average for travel bookings made over 14 days in advance.”
Last year, airlines had offered substantial discounts across sectors and made attractive offers for ticket-buyers who planned their travel in advance, resulting in lower yields. To be sure, the industry ’s ability to charge more will depend on the direction in aviation fuel prices and seasonal changes in air-travel demand.
“February and March are lean months, and the airlines may not have room to increase so much. But there will be increases subsequently if jet fuel prices continue their climb,”said a senior executive of a budget carrier.

What was the observation of Cleartrip on airline ticket prices?

India ’s delicately balanced current account wouldn ’t be the only major casualty of costlier crude oil: Local travelers now have to pay more to fly within the country as expensive jet fuel propels airlines to raise domestic fares that had tracked global energy prices to plunge to record lows last year.
Higher consumer fares in January reflect the persistent rise in aviation-fuel prices, which increased 8% on-month in November at the New Delhi airport, the country ’s busiest. After a brief lull in December, prices firmed in January and February, breaching the levels of 2015 when the cycle of declines began.
The trend has led carriers to pass additional fuel costs on to consumers, many of whom switched to airlines after the gap between air and upper-class train fares narrowed in 2016. A senior executive at Jet Airways, India ’s second-biggest airline by market share, said that the airline has recently revived the practice of levying a fuel surcharge - a fare component linked to movements in jet fuel prices - on domestic flights.
“We used to charge between Rs 100 and Rs 300 depending on short- and long haul sectors. Now we charge as much as Rs 700,”he added. Jet-fuel is the biggest cost item for Indian carriers.
Prices of petroleum products began rising since the spring after the 2015-16 winter witnessed record lows for crude oil, with global prices breaching $30 a barrel on their way down to levels not seen since the 1980s. However, after a period of consolidation that analysts believed would have put many shale oil producers out of business, global crude oil prices began firming and have now stabilized around $55 a barrel, a level that some believe would be maintained over the medium term. Airlines had clubbed fuel surcharge with the base fare component in 2015 after an advisory from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the country ’s aviation regulator. No-frills carrier SpiceJet has separated the two components over the last six months, although the fuel surcharge hasn ’t been increased yet, said a spokesperson.
Travel company executives said overall fares have increased in January. According to data on Makemytrip, the country ’s biggest online travel portal, average fares dropped in November and December but rose in January. Ticket prices for the Delhi-Mumbai sector rose to Rs 4,266 in January, compared with Rs 3,908 the same month last year, Rs 4,914 on the Mumbai- Bangalore sector compared with Rs 4,573 a year earlier, and Rs 4,473 on the Mumbai-Chennai route, compared with Rs 3,784 last January. Rival Cleartrip noticed divergent trends that showed those booking early stood to benefit. Last year, spot-booking fares too had fallen drastically.
“An analysis of the last three months of airfare data for the top 20 air travel sectors reveals that the increased cost to airlines, contributed by the fuel prices surge and the rupee ’s depreciation, has resulted in a 15% increase in airfares for a booking window of 0-14 days,”said Samyukth Sridharan, president and chief operating officer of Cleartrip. “At the same time, we see that the airlines have been quite aggressive in offering deals to passengers who plan in advance, reflected in a 21% year on-year drop in fares on an average for travel bookings made over 14 days in advance.”
Last year, airlines had offered substantial discounts across sectors and made attractive offers for ticket-buyers who planned their travel in advance, resulting in lower yields. To be sure, the industry ’s ability to charge more will depend on the direction in aviation fuel prices and seasonal changes in air-travel demand.
“February and March are lean months, and the airlines may not have room to increase so much. But there will be increases subsequently if jet fuel prices continue their climb,”said a senior executive of a budget carrier.

Out of the following options, which of the following comes closest in meaning to the word “breach ”?

There is a controversy raging over the entry of giants such as Tesco and Wal-Mart into India after the government last week permitted foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail. Most economic analysts look at it in terms of capital coming into India to oust local shopkeepers or in terms of capital coming in to offer better prices to farmers or set up distribution chains and storage facilities to help consumers. These arguments seem a little old. There is a technological dimension to this that may reveal that it is India that is behind the competitive edge of big retail chains.
In 2009, Wal-Mart picked Bangalore-based Infosys Technologies and India-centric Cognizant among three information technology service vendors for a $600 million multi-year contract. Finance is now easily available for retail companies from banks and equity markets. What sets the real smart retail giants apart is their ability to leverage software and IT to keep their competitive edge. Supply chain software can help lower costs by managing inventories. Data analytics and customer relations software can help them identify the more lucrative customers or choose discount strategies. Partners, employees and vendors of retail giants are now connected by software. Indian talent figures in all this. Infosys was an early adapter of Wal-Mart ’s move to go in for radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags that helps the retail chain track inventories at low cost. Last year, Wal-Mart also acquired Kosmix, a cutting-edge search engine, founded by Indian-born Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman (who earlier co-founded Junglee.com that Amazon acquired). Now Kosmix is a part of Wal- Mart Labs. Its technology filters and aggregates information by topic from Twitter messages and the larger Web in real time. This is a new way to interact with shoppers. Tesco now owes its edge to its Bangalore IT facility called the “Hindustan Service Centre ”. The British retail chain says 6,000-employee-strong HSC ’s strategic initiatives cover the “IT, business, financial, commercial and property aspects.”In Bangalore, Indian techies develop tools like mobile applications for Tesco.

From the passage, it can be assumed that the author ’s views on FDI in multi-brand retail are

There is a controversy raging over the entry of giants such as Tesco and Wal-Mart into India after the government last week permitted foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail. Most economic analysts look at it in terms of capital coming into India to oust local shopkeepers or in terms of capital coming in to offer better prices to farmers or set up distribution chains and storage facilities to help consumers. These arguments seem a little old. There is a technological dimension to this that may reveal that it is India that is behind the competitive edge of big retail chains.
In 2009, Wal-Mart picked Bangalore-based Infosys Technologies and India-centric Cognizant among three information technology service vendors for a $600 million multi-year contract. Finance is now easily available for retail companies from banks and equity markets. What sets the real smart retail giants apart is their ability to leverage software and IT to keep their competitive edge. Supply chain software can help lower costs by managing inventories. Data analytics and customer relations software can help them identify the more lucrative customers or choose discount strategies. Partners, employees and vendors of retail giants are now connected by software. Indian talent figures in all this. Infosys was an early adapter of Wal-Mart ’s move to go in for radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags that helps the retail chain track inventories at low cost. Last year, Wal-Mart also acquired Kosmix, a cutting-edge search engine, founded by Indian-born Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman (who earlier co-founded Junglee.com that Amazon acquired). Now Kosmix is a part of Wal- Mart Labs. Its technology filters and aggregates information by topic from Twitter messages and the larger Web in real time. This is a new way to interact with shoppers. Tesco now owes its edge to its Bangalore IT facility called the “Hindustan Service Centre ”. The British retail chain says 6,000-employee-strong HSC ’s strategic initiatives cover the “IT, business, financial, commercial and property aspects.”In Bangalore, Indian techies develop tools like mobile applications for Tesco.

According to the passage, which of the following are the essential elements in the success of retail giants?
1. The use of technology to maintain an advantage over others.
2. Sales and marketing strategies based on an analysis of customer data.
3. Maintenance of large inventories to bring the benefits of low cost to the customer.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.

There is a controversy raging over the entry of giants such as Tesco and Wal-Mart into India after the government last week permitted foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail. Most economic analysts look at it in terms of capital coming into India to oust local shopkeepers or in terms of capital coming in to offer better prices to farmers or set up distribution chains and storage facilities to help consumers. These arguments seem a little old. There is a technological dimension to this that may reveal that it is India that is behind the competitive edge of big retail chains.
In 2009, Wal-Mart picked Bangalore-based Infosys Technologies and India-centric Cognizant among three information technology service vendors for a $600 million multi-year contract. Finance is now easily available for retail companies from banks and equity markets. What sets the real smart retail giants apart is their ability to leverage software and IT to keep their competitive edge. Supply chain software can help lower costs by managing inventories. Data analytics and customer relations software can help them identify the more lucrative customers or choose discount strategies. Partners, employees and vendors of retail giants are now connected by software. Indian talent figures in all this. Infosys was an early adapter of Wal-Mart ’s move to go in for radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags that helps the retail chain track inventories at low cost. Last year, Wal-Mart also acquired Kosmix, a cutting-edge search engine, founded by Indian-born Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman (who earlier co-founded Junglee.com that Amazon acquired). Now Kosmix is a part of Wal- Mart Labs. Its technology filters and aggregates information by topic from Twitter messages and the larger Web in real time. This is a new way to interact with shoppers. Tesco now owes its edge to its Bangalore IT facility called the “Hindustan Service Centre ”. The British retail chain says 6,000-employee-strong HSC ’s strategic initiatives cover the “IT, business, financial, commercial and property aspects.”In Bangalore, Indian techies develop tools like mobile applications for Tesco.

Which of the following options best explains the purpose of the last four paragraphs?

There is a controversy raging over the entry of giants such as Tesco and Wal-Mart into India after the government last week permitted foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail. Most economic analysts look at it in terms of capital coming into India to oust local shopkeepers or in terms of capital coming in to offer better prices to farmers or set up distribution chains and storage facilities to help consumers. These arguments seem a little old. There is a technological dimension to this that may reveal that it is India that is behind the competitive edge of big retail chains.
In 2009, Wal-Mart picked Bangalore-based Infosys Technologies and India-centric Cognizant among three information technology service vendors for a $600 million multi-year contract. Finance is now easily available for retail companies from banks and equity markets. What sets the real smart retail giants apart is their ability to leverage software and IT to keep their competitive edge. Supply chain software can help lower costs by managing inventories. Data analytics and customer relations software can help them identify the more lucrative customers or choose discount strategies. Partners, employees and vendors of retail giants are now connected by software. Indian talent figures in all this. Infosys was an early adapter of Wal-Mart ’s move to go in for radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags that helps the retail chain track inventories at low cost. Last year, Wal-Mart also acquired Kosmix, a cutting-edge search engine, founded by Indian-born Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman (who earlier co-founded Junglee.com that Amazon acquired). Now Kosmix is a part of Wal- Mart Labs. Its technology filters and aggregates information by topic from Twitter messages and the larger Web in real time. This is a new way to interact with shoppers. Tesco now owes its edge to its Bangalore IT facility called the “Hindustan Service Centre ”. The British retail chain says 6,000-employee-strong HSC ’s strategic initiatives cover the “IT, business, financial, commercial and property aspects.”In Bangalore, Indian techies develop tools like mobile applications for Tesco.

Consider the following statements:
1. Anand Rajaraman was a manager of Junglee.com
2. Last year, Wal-Mart was bought by Kosmix. According to the above passage, which of the statements is/are valid?

There is a controversy raging over the entry of giants such as Tesco and Wal-Mart into India after the government last week permitted foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail. Most economic analysts look at it in terms of capital coming into India to oust local shopkeepers or in terms of capital coming in to offer better prices to farmers or set up distribution chains and storage facilities to help consumers. These arguments seem a little old. There is a technological dimension to this that may reveal that it is India that is behind the competitive edge of big retail chains.
In 2009, Wal-Mart picked Bangalore-based Infosys Technologies and India-centric Cognizant among three information technology service vendors for a $600 million multi-year contract. Finance is now easily available for retail companies from banks and equity markets. What sets the real smart retail giants apart is their ability to leverage software and IT to keep their competitive edge. Supply chain software can help lower costs by managing inventories. Data analytics and customer relations software can help them identify the more lucrative customers or choose discount strategies. Partners, employees and vendors of retail giants are now connected by software. Indian talent figures in all this. Infosys was an early adapter of Wal-Mart ’s move to go in for radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags that helps the retail chain track inventories at low cost. Last year, Wal-Mart also acquired Kosmix, a cutting-edge search engine, founded by Indian-born Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman (who earlier co-founded Junglee.com that Amazon acquired). Now Kosmix is a part of Wal- Mart Labs. Its technology filters and aggregates information by topic from Twitter messages and the larger Web in real time. This is a new way to interact with shoppers. Tesco now owes its edge to its Bangalore IT facility called the “Hindustan Service Centre ”. The British retail chain says 6,000-employee-strong HSC ’s strategic initiatives cover the “IT, business, financial, commercial and property aspects.”In Bangalore, Indian techies develop tools like mobile applications for Tesco.

Consider the following statements:
1. Wal-Mart picked Infosys Technologies in 2008.
2. Retail companies procure finance from banks and equity markets.
According to the above passage, which of the statements is/are valid?